A vehicle having a driveline including a continuously variable transmission has many advantages over vehicles not including the continuously variable transmission. The vehicle having a driveline including a continuously variable transmission allows an operator of the vehicle or a control system of the vehicle to vary a drive ratio in a stepless manner. Such functionality permits a power source of the vehicle, such as an internal combustion engine, to operate at its most efficient rotational speed.
Vehicle packaging requirements and vehicle cost are an ever increasing concern for modern consumers and manufacturers. A hydraulic system, a complex arrangement of gears and clutches, and expensive belts or rollers may form a portion of a conventional multi-speed automatic transmission or a continuously variable transmission. As a result of these concerns, multi-speed automatic transmissions and continuously variable transmissions commonly used in vehicles are typically complex, bulky, and costly to service.
Continuously variable transmissions known in the art tend to have limited ratio ranges. In a variable diameter pulley style continuously variable transmission, a ration range is limited by a ratio between the smallest and largest diameters in which the variable diameter pulleys may be configured in. Further, because all of the power transferred through the continuously variable transmission must pass through a flexible belt, the variable diameter pulley style continuously variable transmission is typically limited to transmitting smaller amounts of power. Such designs limit the vehicle applications the continuously variable transmissions may be incorporated in.
It would be advantageous to develop a driveline including a continuously variable transmission that is inexpensive, compact, may be configured for a wide range of torque distributions, and able to adjust a drive ratio.